


The Lonnie Edit

by hiddencorners



Series: You're Better Than You Think You Are [2]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), Lonnie's Warrior Sword, School of Secrets (webseries), School of Secrets: Lonnie's Warrior Sword, The Isle of the Lost Series - Melissa de la Cruz
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Descendants 3 AU, Do people still use waff these days?, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Rare Pair, Slow Burn, WAFF
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:13:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27089947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiddencorners/pseuds/hiddencorners
Summary: [AU] Instead of choosing to become a pro ROAR athlete in her native land of Northern Wei, Lonnie decides to take a gap year to travel around the kingdoms as a DJ and be a professional hip-hop dancer instead after graduation. Taking a break from her hectic schedule, Lonnie makes the trek back to Auradon Prep to meet the new VKs, celebrate Jane's 16th birthday, and Ben and Mal's surprise engagement.  What she thought to be a simple but fun weekend hanging out with friends turns darker when her old friend Audrey and Hades, the God of the Dead have other plans.
Relationships: Jay/Li Lonnie
Series: You're Better Than You Think You Are [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1977226
Comments: 36
Kudos: 9





	The Lonnie Edit

**Author's Note:**

> I have headcanon full names and nicknames for Lonnie, Jay, and Ben here. Jay's full Arabic name is Jamal which means "beautiful" or "handsome". Lonnie's full Chinese name is Li Mei-Hua (Mei is pronounced as "Mai") and Mei-Hua means "beautiful blossom". Champ is a nickname Lonnie calls Jay sometimes. And lastly, Ben is revealed to be Lonnie's childhood friend in the Isle of the Lost novels so I thought her calling him Benji would have been a thing since they were kids.:3

VK Day was fast approaching. Everything that was listed on Jane's checklist had been crossed off. Mal's Royal Purple limo had a full tank of gas. Evie made sure everyone's outfits were "on point" (her words) and appropriately stylish for the event. Jane and Carlos had done the tweaks needed for the live stream that was going to be broadcast everywhere. And the four of them had finalized the roster of the new VKs that were set to attend Auradon Prep. All that was left to do was to get some sleep and wake up bright and early to make sure everything runs smoothly for VK Day.

Unfortunately for Jay, the son of Jafar was having a little trouble with the "getting some sleep" part. He had already said goodnight in the VK group chat he had with Mal, Evie, and Carlos. His phone was already resting on his nightstand, charging away. The boy wasn't an anxious person by nature (that was more of Carlos' territory), but he just didn't feel tired at all. He was lying in bed, his arm behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling of one of Evie's guest rooms. Jay had lost count of how many times he had fluttered his eyes open from failing to fall asleep.

He hated admitting defeat, but it was no use. Insomnia had won this round. With a groan, he pushed himself off the bed, removed his charging phone from its stand, and headed to the kitchen. Maybe all he needed was a warm glass of milk? It seemed to do the trick for Carlos.

After tucking the device into his pajama pocket, he headed out, careful not to make any noise so that he won't disturb anyone from his sneaking around. It had been a while since Jay needed to be sneaky, he had to admit. 

Jay reached the kitchen without any consequence, hitting the light switch on before grabbing a mug and opening the refrigerator to get the milk. He found himself taking his smartphone while he was warming up the cup in the microwave, opening up the app, MirrorTime. He swiped through his contacts until he came upon a particular name that made him smile:

🌺 **Lonnie Li (李美花)**

Before he could even stop himself, he tapped on Lonnie's name, quietly saying the words, "Mirror, mirror" to activate the video calling feature. It only took one ring before Lonnie's cute sleepy face came into view. Jay could see her long black hair was tied in a messy bun, a magenta neck pillow hung around her neck, and there were teal earbuds in her ears. He could only assume she was listening to some music as a way to relax during the long train ride from Northern Wei to Auradon before she picked up his call.

"Jay?" Lonnie said softly, using her free hand to rub the sleep from her eyes. "What time is it there?"

He was about to answer her before the beep of the microwave interrupted him. "Hold on a sec," he said, putting the phone down, giving Lonnie a great view of the ceiling as he took the mug out of the microwave and then closing the door. "It's almost… 2. Sorry, did I wake you?" he asked, righting the position of the camera so Lonnie could see him better.

"Oh, no! No, I'm -- "she yawned, ducking her head into her arm to hide her mouth. "Well, maybe a little," she said with a giggle (Jay had to hide a smile behind the mug while drinking his milk). "I'm in that weird place where you're sleepy, but you can't fall asleep somehow?"

"Whaaaat?" Jay replied, incredulous, "There's no such thing."

"There's such a thing -- I am the thing!" Lonnie scoffed, her free hand was gesturing towards herself to emphasize her point. "That thing is me, Jamal."

Jay chuckled, taking a seat at one of the bar stools stationed at the kitchen counter and putting the mug down on the surface, "Wow, okay! So I guess we're doing full names now."

Lonnie's half-lidded eyes suddenly shot open, now alert, frantically grabbing her phone with both hands, "Don't you dare--"

"You started it," Jay started, deliberately taking a long sip from his mug before going, "Li Mei-Hua,"

Lonnie sputtered, her mouth ajar at what she had just heard, "JAMAL!"

"MEI!" Jay quipped back, laughing at the look of disbelief Lonnie was making on the feed. "Just FYI, you're being a little loud," he said, taking another sip.

Lonnie winced, putting the phone down and craning her neck out of the train cabin she was in to check if anyone had woken up from her outburst. Jay had a good view of darkness before the girl appeared in the video once again, sighing in relief. "Everyone's fast asleep~ So there!" She stuck her tongue out, making Jay laugh again.

"You realize that you go 'all weird' whenever I use your Chinese name, right?"

"Uh, you only call me 'Mei' when you're messing with me!"

_Not my fault that 'Mei' means beautiful in Mandarin._

Jay was tempted to voice this thought out loud but decided against it. He opened his mouth like he was about to retort before closing it up again, unable to think of a witty response. "Eh," he said after a beat, shrugging as he took another sip from the mug, "Got me there."

"Unbelievable," Lonnie sighed, rolling her eyes. The smile tugging around the corner of her lips betrayed that she wasn't that cross with him. "Jay," she said, raising an eyebrow at him, "why'd you MirrorTime me so late?"

"Because I wanted to bug ya at 2 in the morning?" he said, giving his best impression of the puppy dog eyes. Lonnie wasn't convinced.

"Okay," she said, shaking her head, her index finger poised to swipe at the end call button. "Goodnight, Jay--"

"WAIT!" Jay waved a hand in front of the camera in an attempt to stop Lonnie from signing out. She didn't, much to his relief. "Wait, Lonnie, don't. Don't go yet…" he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

"What's wrong?" Her voice and expression softened, reminding Jay of the same look of kindness Lonnie gave him in the kitchen where Mal needed to make love spell cookies for Ben two years ago. It almost made him falter, making him want to just sit there and not say anything as he stared intently into Lonnie's warm, brown eyes. He snapped out of his reverie when Lonnie called out to him again. "Jay…?"

"'Wrong'?" he responded, backpedaling. "Pffft, nothing's wrong. Everything's hunky-dory." Jay cringed as soon as the last word left his lips, eliciting a chuckle from Lonnie.

"Okay, one, you definitely have been hanging out with me for way too long."

"HEY--!"

"And two, people don't call their best friends at 2 AM when everything's 'hunky-dory.'"

"Sure, they do!"

"Uh-huh, sure," Lonnie said, cupping her hand underneath her chin. "I believe you."

There was a lull after that, with Lonnie fully utilizing her most dubious gaze on Jay. The boy tried not to let her stare bother him, going back to polish off the rest of the milk inside his mug. The only sound coming for either of them is just the sipping sound Jay was making while he drank the rest of his beverage. With a THUNK on the wooden counter, the cup was only half-empty because Jay almost choked from drinking the milk too quickly. However, the impromptu staring contest between Lonnie and Jay persisted. One of them had to crack, eventually.

"Fine, fine!" And that someone was Jay, much to Lonnie's surprise and delight. "You win! Happy now?"

"Weeeellll depends on what you're gonna tell me, dude," she replied, tapping her fingers on her cheek, waiting.

"Okay," Jay took a breath, running a hand through his hair before revealing, "Okay, it's just… I'm a little nervous about VK Day. Not that 'good nervous' feeling like when we're waiting for the ROAR judges to tally the scores in matches. It's the 'whole-sweaty-palms, having insomnia, and thinking something might go wrong' type of nervousness."

He paused, looking at the screen intently to gauge Lonnie's reaction. The girl stopped tapping her cheek, her face fully resting on her palm now. Her expression went back to that gentleness that Jay found soothing.

"Why do you think something might go wrong?" She said after a while. Jay couldn't help but scoff at that.

"Lonnie, you've known me, Mal, Evie, and Carlos for 2 years now. Haven't you noticed whenever there's a big event in Auradon, and we're involved, it all goes to camel crud?"

"... _Oh."_

Lonnie's eyes widened at the realization, coughing into her hand in hopes of hiding a laugh threatening to bubble up to the surface. She instantly pictured Maleficent crashing Ben's Coronation Day. And then Ben getting kidnapped, _then_ brainwashed to love Uma during Cotilion (any event that had anything to do with poor Benji, really). Unfortunately, Jay caught that, narrowing his eyes at her, making her snicker behind her palm.

"O-oh my Fairy Godmother," she managed to say without tittering. "Uh-huh! _Ahem,_ yeah, your track record hasn't been great, I admit."

Jay's face fell upon hearing that, taking a swig of his milk as if he was drinking something alcoholic instead. "Gee, thanks for cheering me up, Lon. _Great talk._ "

"Jay, let me finish!" Lonnie gestured towards the camera. "Come on, finish your drink and just listen, please? For me?" she asked, tilting her head and doing her best hurt puppy dog look that could rival Dude's any day.

Damn, if he only wasn't weak to that look.

" _Fine_ ," he said, finishing the last drops of his beverage. "I'm listening."

"Great!" Lonnie took a deep breath before she spoke again. "Okay, VK Day is a big day for everyone, especially for you four. You put a lot of thought into the planning, and you spent nights going through all of those submissions. You being all nervous shows that you _care_ ,"

The daughter of Mulan never wanted more than to reach out through the screen and hold Jay's hand in hers to comfort him. She could only imagine her doing the gesture in her mind, sighing as she continued. Jay himself was unconsciously tightening his free hand around what would have been Lonnie's palm as he gently placed the empty mug back down on the counter.

"Jay, you care so much for those kids on the Isle that you have done everything in your power to make them feel safe, happy, and cared for during their stay here in Auradon. Heck, you, Carlos, Evie, and Mal would have given those kids the whole world if Fairy Godmother would be willing to do a little magic to make that possible,"

_'You care.'_

_'Jay, you care so much.'_

The words took Jay aback. It never crossed his mind that that was the reason for his nerves. Caring was never a thing back on the Isle. Jafar made sure that Jay never experienced that sort of "mushy gushy" gross and weak of emotion in all of his life. Caring made you soft, distracted from what really mattered in life: money. He had only been realizing for the past 2 years how wrong Jafar was. Living in Auradon and meeting people like Ben, Lonnie, Doug, and Jane just proved the opposite.

They were the strongest people he knows.

"So those nerves? Use it! Channel all that nervous energy into welcoming those kids to their new home…"

The girl felt a tear forming from the corner of her eye, her free hand coming up to wipe it away from her knuckle. Jay noticed this, making him chuckle and shake his head.

He suddenly remembered the first time he had ever met the daughter of Mulan in person. He felt he was transported back in the kitchen where he and his wicked friends were baking up a love potion cookies to give to the young King of Auradon. Sixteen-year-old him didn't understand it at the time, why this girl who barely knew them would be sad and cry when they told her their villainous parents didn't love them. But now Jay knew: Lonnie _cared_. She cared for them even before they became her friends for real.

The realization made his chest feel warm, the same warmth he felt heading back to his dorm with Carlos after their encounter with Lonnie and the cookies. Although it was no longer a feeling that was alien to him.

"Okay, Champ?" Lonnie's bright smile and reassuring voice cut through Jay's musings, bring him to rapt attention. He couldn't help but smile back at her, giving her a wink in response. Lonnie blushed, her chipper expression turning shy. 

"Don't go crying on me now, Li,"

"I'M NO--I'm not!" she said, hastily rubbing her eyes now, the blush on her cheeks darkening in color, even spreading to the tips of her ears. Lonnie was hoping the lighting in the train car didn't make it _that_ obvious to Jay.

"Uh-huh, sure," he replied, mirroring what she said to him just a few minutes ago, complete with him resting his chin on his palm. "I believe you."

"Shut up!" she retorted, rolling her eyes at him, making Jay laugh again. She had to give pause when she noticed her stomach did what felt like somersaults. Lonnie took a breath to compose herself before speaking, "Anyway, how are you feeling now?"

"Better, actually," he said, leaving the phone propped up on the counter, the camera showing Jay picking up the mug into his hands. He stood up from the stool so that he can rinse the cup in the sink. "I'm gonna 'channel' all this nervous energy later."

"You're gonna do great! I know…" A yawn finally escapes from Lonnie (which the boy managed to catch a glimpse of when he glanced back hearing the sound), "… you will! Whoops, so…" And another. "Sorry…"

Jay found it adorable.

" 's fine," he returned the mug to the cupboard where he found it. In one smooth motion, Jay turned on his heel, grabbing his phone on the counter, and then reached his hand out to turn off the light before heading towards the direction of the guest rooms quietly. "You have a cute yawn."

Even on the brink of sleep, Lonnie still managed to give the son of Jafar one of her patented "Are you serious right now?" looks whenever he tried to flirt with her. Jay had to duck his head from the screen to hide the fact he was trying not to guffaw.

_What? The rosy cheeks really sell it!_

"Uh-huh," she said, pushing a button on her armrest that lowers her chair down, shifting the angle of the camera because of her new position. "Sure, I do."

Jay locked the door behind him, finally made it to his room. He was getting ready to turn in after turning off the light and replugging his phone back to the charger near his bedside table, flipping the camera angle at this end too.

"I'm paying you a serious compliment, and you're just going fall asleep on me? I'm hurt, Mei," he said, plopping into bed, pulling his blanket up to his chin.

Despite putting a pouting front, Lonnie chuckled. "Such a drama king."

"O.." As if for revenge, Jay's own yawn spills out. "…only for you~" They both laughed at that before a comfortable silence took place. The pair laid on their bed and chair respectively, quietly taking in how the other looked with their eyes half-lidded, a soft smile lifted the corners of their mouths.

The silence was broken with Jay yawning once more before saying, "Hey Lon? Thanks."

"Of course," she said, her eyes fluttering close. "Anytime."

After the pair have said their goodnights, the MirrorTime call ended. Jay could finally drift off to slumber, looking forward now to VK Day more than ever.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Sorry! I took an unexpected hiatus from writing anything, really. I do want to continue Closure in the near future, but bear with me for 2020 is a tough bench. My updating will be sporadic as all heck. This story (which is set in the Closure universe) was born out of my frustration and saltiness at how Lonnie wasn't even mentioned in D3. I'm still working out if this will be an all-out AU retelling of D3 with bonus Lonnie or scenes that would have with Lonnie's involved in them. 
> 
> Enjoy! ~~Also, yes, I'm still editing this because I'm a perfectionist. Yes, I'll tell you all when I've stopped sob~~


End file.
